Walking along the path that led to the outskirts, Li Xuan traveled with a woman named Hayakawa Tanako. He asked calmly, "Did you conduct any preliminary investigation?"
"Yes," her voice emerged from beneath the mask that covered her face. "The first disappearance among the Shifang clan occurred right after they conducted a transaction with a traveling merchant."
"What about that merchant?"
"He vanished without a trace. No one has been able to find him."
"Has the Shifang family shown any other abnormalities?"
"Many of their clansmen have gone missing. Panic has begun to spread among them, and some, unable to endure the atmosphere of fear, have already abandoned their ancestral home."
"I see. That is enough information. Leave the rest to me," Li Xuan replied.
"Then I must trouble you," Tanako said respectfully, bowing once again.
To save time, Li Xuan asked her for the exact location of the Shifang estate. He planned to go ahead by himself, since she was only an ordinary human and her walking pace was far too slow.
"I will go on ahead," he said.
"Very well."
In the next instant, Li Xuan invoked his breathing technique. His figure blurred like a fleeting shadow and shot forward. When he passed by other travelers on the road, they merely thought a sudden gust of wind had brushed against them.
With such speed, he soon stood before the gate of a sprawling residence.
"There is a scent," Li Xuan murmured, lifting his nose.
The keen sense of smell he had obtained through sign-ins with Tanjiro and Urokodaki allowed him to detect it clearly. The pungent, metallic tang of a demon lingered in the air.
"As expected, a demon is here."
He rapped his knuckles on the wooden gate.
The door slid open, revealing a woman dressed in a crimson kimono. When she saw a stranger standing before her, suspicion filled her eyes. "And you are?"
"I am here to investigate the disappearances within your clan," Li Xuan replied evenly.
At once her expression brightened. Relief and joy colored her voice as she said, "Please come in, please come in."
Because Tanako had already informed the Shifang family of his arrival, they were not on guard against him.
Without hesitation, Li Xuan stepped through the threshold.
"I will lead you to a guest room to rest. Afterward, I will inform the family head," the woman said, guiding him through corridors polished clean, before opening a quiet chamber for him.
After Li Xuan gave a small nod, she bowed and departed.
He had not waited long before a stern-looking man appeared at the door.
"Good evening, sir. I am Shifang Masakazu, head of the Shifang family."
"Enter," Li Xuan gestured.
They sat facing one another across the low table.
"You are a member of the organization known as the Demon Slayer Corps, are you not?" Masakazu asked.
Li Xuan gave a slight nod.
"In recent months, several members of my family have disappeared. I myself believe it may be the work of thieves or perhaps our enemies, yet my wife is convinced it is the work of demons. That is why we requested your presence," Masakazu explained slowly. His voice carried a subtle edge of distrust.
Li Xuan understood perfectly. To ordinary people, the existence of demons was nothing more than rumor or superstition. Information about them was deliberately suppressed. This was why the Demon Slayer Corps remained small in number, with only a few hundred warriors scattered across the land. To Masakazu, Li Xuan was nothing but a charlatan making use of fear and legends.
"Where is your wife?" Li Xuan asked.
If the husband was unwilling to believe, then he would speak with the one who did.
"She is resting, so I came instead," Masakazu said. "I can provide you with some silver. Perhaps you can take it and return the way you came?"
Li Xuan chuckled softly.
"Why do you laugh?" Masakazu's tone turned instantly cold, his polite demeanor evaporating.
"I simply find it amusing." Li Xuan propped his chin in his palm, his gaze playful yet sharp. "Tell me, head of the Shifang family, does it not strike you as strange? If you truly do not believe in demons, then why would you trouble yourself to greet me personally just because your wife does?"
"You…" The words seemed to strike a nerve. Masakazu's face twisted with fury as he slammed his hands against the table. "If you refuse to leave, then do not expect to leave at all, you wretch…"
Before he could finish his threat, a sudden chill touched his throat. His eyes widened. A gleaming blue blade rested against his neck.
"You are clearly human, so why do you serve a demon?" Li Xuan whispered in a voice colder than winter air.
"You… you…" Masakazu stammered helplessly, unable to string words together.
"Do you wish to die?" Li Xuan asked. Though his lips curved into a smile, his words were sharp as ice, stabbing straight into the man's heart.
"No, I do not!" Masakazu cried.
"Then speak. What is the true situation within the Shifang family?"
"I cannot say! If I speak, I will be killed!"
"Whether or not you die after speaking, I cannot say. But if you remain silent, I will certainly kill you now."
"I will speak! I will speak!"
Li Xuan withdrew his blade and sat back down, his face returning to its calm, almost gentle expression.
Masakazu, however, could no longer sit. He hunched like a beaten dog, voice trembling as he confessed. "I am indeed the current head of the Shifang family, yet I only inherited the title after the former head died. The previous head conducted a porcelain trade with a mysterious merchant, not knowing that the man was a demon. That demon devoured him alive. Then it threatened me, forcing me to serve it, to conceal its killings."
So this demon had learned how to sustain itself carefully, Li Xuan thought. Ordinary demons killed recklessly, but this one understood that secrecy was vital, otherwise the Demon Slayer Corps would quickly come for it.
"At first, the disappearances were spaced out, only a few people at a time, which could be covered up. But recently the demon's appetite has grown insatiable. Too many have vanished. I can no longer suppress the rumors. It must have been one of my clansmen who sent for you."
"I see," Li Xuan sneered. "So your only role is to whitewash the demon's crimes."
"I was threatened. I had no choice," Masakazu insisted, lowering his head.
Li Xuan's eyes narrowed. "Do not lie. I can smell deceit. Most of what you said is true, but at the point where you claimed to be threatened, your words reek of lies."
Masakazu froze, his face pale.
"Let me guess," Li Xuan continued. "You were not merely threatened. You willingly bowed to the demon to secure your position as head of the clan, serving it like a loyal hound. When you greeted me, your words were full of flaws. You even pretended outrage to provoke me, testing whether I was truly a capable slayer. If I had been weak, you would have disposed of me or driven me away. If I proved strong, you would rely on your tale of being threatened to deceive me into killing the demon for you, then return to your life of servitude and comfort."
Li Xuan thought briefly of Tanjiro. If it had been him, he might have been tricked. Tanjiro's sharp sense of smell could detect lies, but it was not as refined as the enhanced perception Li Xuan possessed from combining Urokodaki's and Tanjiro's abilities.
"And more than that," Li Xuan added with a faint smile, "I can already smell a demon rushing this way."
The room fell into suffocating silence. Masakazu's expression hardened.
Suddenly, with a crash, the door burst open.
The stench of blood and rotting flesh flooded the chamber. A massive mouth, dripping with shredded meat, lunged straight for Li Xuan's face.
"Water Breathing, Seventh Form: Drop Ripple Thrust."
His words had barely left his lips when the blade shot forward, a flash of deep blue. Like a pebble striking still water, the thrust rippled outward.
The sword pierced through the demon's neck. A shower of blood erupted as the head was severed cleanly, soaring into the air. The hideous expression froze upon its face, locked forever in that final, grotesque moment.